


The Plans I Have For You

by petersnotkingyet



Category: The Dukes of Hazzard (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Disability, Disabled Character, Gen, Hurt Bo, Post injury, Protective Luke, Traumatic Brain Injury, Vignette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-13
Updated: 2017-11-13
Packaged: 2019-02-01 16:23:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12708579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/petersnotkingyet/pseuds/petersnotkingyet
Summary: You take enough risks, and something bad's bound to happen.Bo has a brain injury.  Luke has questions.





	The Plans I Have For You

“Come on, Bo-Bo,” Daisy said.  “Let’s wash your hair.”

Bo got into the kitchen chair in front of the sink without a fuss, but they all knew he’d be squirming in seconds.  Daisy worked fast and sang to distract him, but Bo still looked near tears by the time she was drying his hair.  It’d been six months since his last surgery—Bo’s hair was long enough to hold a good curl now—but he still didn’t like anyone touching his head.

“There you go, sugar,” Daisy said, coming his hair down with her fingers.  “Soon as your hair finishes drying you’ll be all ready to go into town with Luke.”

“Luke?” Bo said hopefully, glancing around.  Luke stayed where he was in the doorway.  He needed just a minute longer.

“Yeah, baby, you and Luke are going to run some errands after breakfast,” Daisy said.  “That’ll be fun, won’t it?  And then you’re going to go see Dr. Jones.”

Bo didn’t really answer, but he made a humming noise that sounded happy as he sat down at the table.  His attention was more on Luke than Dr. Jones, but that was a problem that could be ignored for a few hours.  Daisy turned around to take the biscuits out of the oven, and Luke just managed to duck out of sight in time.  He took a few deep breaths there before he rounded the corner to join his family in the kitchen.

“There you are,” Daisy said.  “I thought me and Bo were going to have to eat all this ourselves.”

“Yeah, well, _someone_ tried to flood the bathroom, and I had to clean it up,” Luke said.  Bo grinned, almost bashful, and giggled as he ducked his head into the crook of his elbow. Uncle Jesse chuckled and didn’t bother telling Bo to get his elbows off the table like he always used to.

Bo’d been a messy eater his whole life, so Luke didn’t think too much of wiping his face after breakfast.  His clothes hadn’t suffered any, so they didn’t have to worry about wrangling him into a clean tee shirt before they left.  The blond slid into his boots while Luke helped clear the table and then stood impatiently by the door.

“Luke,” Bo huffed when his cousin took too long for his taste.  He jutted his chin towards the door, and Luke got the message.  _Let’s go._

“I’m coming, buddy,” Luke laughed.  “Just give me a second.”

After Bo came home from the hospital, it took them two months to convince him that Luke should be the one driving the General.  He didn’t try to argue it much anymore, but Luke was always careful not to leave his keys lying around.  Today, Bo was content to slide into the passenger side and let his hand dangle out the window.

Luke had been prepared for their trip to town to be slow and meandering.  It was out of the routine for Bo, and there were too many distractions for it to be efficient.  This was the town that Bo had lived in since he was a child, but there was always something new to draw his eye—an unfamiliar car parked at Cooter’s, a baby crying, a shirt in the store that looked soft.  It took them an hour to get through half their list, but Luke didn’t mind.

When Rosco saw them on the sidewalk, Luke could see the man considering walking away before he realized Luke had seen him.  They didn’t run into the sheriff as much as they used to.  He’d been cleared of any wrongdoing in the investigation, but Rosco usually stuck to desk duty and let Enos and Cletus handle the fieldwork.

“How have you been, Rosco?” Luke called before the sheriff could embarrass himself by trying to avoid them.

“I um… well, I…” Rosco’s gaze lingered on Bo, who was grinning at the sight of the General parked down the block.  “I’ve been pretty good.  How about you boys?”

“We’re good,” Luke said.  “We’re headed to buy feed.”

“Well, that’s good.  That’s—I…”  Rosco got quiet.  “How’s Bo been?”

“He’s good,” Luke said, trying not to sound defensive.  “No big seizures this month.  He’s sleeping better too.”

“I’m glad,” Rosco said.  “Really, Luke, I-”

“Luke,” Bo interrupted, pointing at Cooter’s garage.  Cooter himself was coming out the door and caught sight of them.  He waved at Bo, and Bo grabbed Luke’s sleeve to make sure he saw Cooter before he waved back.

“Want to go visit?” Luke asked even though they’d seen Cooter not two days prior.  Bo nodded.

“Hey, buddy-roos,” Cooter said.  “Daisy putting you two to work today?”

“Yeah,” Bo said.  “Feed.”

“You’re buying feed?” Cooter asked.  Bo nodded.  “For Maudine or the chickens?”

“Just Maudine today,” Luke said.  “Then Bo’s got an appointment with Dr. Jones.”

This time the information sunk in a little more.  Bo frowned, but he didn’t say anything about his physical therapist.  Instead, he edged Cooter back towards the garage.

“Oh, you want to see what I’m working on, huh?” Cooter said.  “Well, you’re in luck.  I’ve got something good today.”

The car was a Mustang, and Bo was tickled.  Cooter popped the hood to let him look inside, and Luke wondered how much knowledge of cars Bo had retained as he watched his cousin’s eyes flicker across the engine.  Whether he understood it or not, Bo made a pleased noise as he leaned back on his heels.

“Gray,” Bo said, sounding less happy.

“I know,” Cooter agreed.  “It’d look better in black.  Or maybe orange, huh?”

Bo shook his head and said, “Just General.”

Cooter laughed, and Luke clapped his cousin on the shoulder. 

“We better get going,” Luke said, glancing at his watch.  They were making better time than he expected, but he had to account for Bo’s meandering while they got feed.  “Bo, do you want to use the bathroom while we’re here?”

“Um…” Bo mumbled, smacking his lips.  “Yeah.”

“Alright,” Luke said.  “You know where it is.  I’ll be right here, okay?”

“Okay,” Bo said.  The two men watched him leave the room before Cooter lowered the Mustang’s hood.

“You got more words out of him just then than we’ve gotten all morning,” Luke said.  Cooter shrugged.

“It’s the cars, man,” he said.  “He still loves ‘em.”

Luke shook his head.  “All he’d say at home was ‘Luke,’” he said.  “Uncle Jesse had to give him his bath this morning while I hid out in the barn, acting like I really needed that long to muck a stall.”

“Hey, it’s okay to need a break sometime,” Cooter said.  “Needing to be alone sometimes doesn’t mean you don’t love Bo.”  Cooter hesitated, and Luke knew what he was about to say.  “Have you gone to see the shrink that nurse gave you the number for?”

“Cooter, you know we can barely afford to get Bo to his appointments.”

“Then talk to somebody else,” Cooter said.  “Uncle Jesse, Daisy.  Call Coy and Vance.  Hell, come by here once a week, and I’ll be your shrink if you bring beer.  Going from being someone’s best friend to their caregiver is heavy, Lukas.”

Bo returned from the bathroom, and the conversation fell silent.

“Ready to go?” Luke asked.  Bo nodded, and Luke said their goodbyes to Cooter.

Visits to Dr. Jones were among Bo’s least favorite appointments, although Luke didn’t exactly understand why.  He didn’t mind doing physical therapy at home, and he seemed to like Dr. Jones fine at the beginning of each appointment.  Within the first half hour, though, they had to take a break for Bo to cry it out.  Luke always came back with him for this reason, and to learn the new exercises to do at home.

“Washing your hair and physical therapy in one morning was too much, huh?” Luke said.  Bo didn’t lift his face from Luke’s shirt, but Luke could tell his cousin was starting to calm down.  They’d caught the meltdown before it was catastrophic enough to ruin the rest of the session.

“Luke,” Bo said.  He sounded miserable, and it made Luke’s chest burn.

“You’ve got a little bit before you have to start back,” Luke said.  “Dr. Jones went to the bathroom.”

In response, Bo planted his face back in Luke’s shirt.

They had to take more breaks than usual, but they made it through the full hour and a half session.  Luke had planned on picking up lunch on the way home, but Bo was too tired to tolerate stopping.  He CBed Daisy to let her know they wouldn’t be bringing food home, and then he let Bo have a few moments of quiet before he cut the radio on.  After a few minutes, Bo reached over to change the station.

“That was a good job today with Dr. Jones, Bo,” Luke said.  “You know we’re all real proud of you, right, Bo?”

“Luke?”

“Yeah, I’m proud of you,” Luke said.  “Real proud.”

“Love you,” Bo said.  He glanced over and caught Luke looking at hm.

“I love you too,” Luke said, reaching over to pat Bo’s knee.

When they got home, Daisy was working a shift at the Boar’s Nest and Uncle Jesse was in the barn.  After putting away their purchases from town, Luke made them sandwiches and set an extra in the fridge for Jesse.  He and Bo ate together in comfortable silence.

“You look like some rest would do you good,” Luke said as he picked up their plates to wash them in the sink.  “How about a nap?”

Bo frowned at his hands but didn’t answer.  Luke washed and dried their plates while he waited for a response.

“You don’t have to go to bed,” he said when Bo still hadn’t spoken.  “We could settle down on the couch a while.”

“Luke?” Bo said.

“Yeah, buddy?”  Luke asked before he realized what Bo meant.  “Oh, yeah, I’ll come too.”

Bo smiled and lead the way to the couch.  He let Luke sit down against the arm before sprawling across the rest of the couch, long legs curled in and his head in Luke’s lap.  The unabashed familiarity made Luke smile, and he carded his fingers through Bo’s curls until his eyes began to droop.  Bo’s restrictions about people touching his head didn’t seem to apply to Luke.

Uncle Jesse started to talk when he came inside, but he quieted as soon as he saw his nephews.  Bo was sleeping deeply by that point, but Luke’s hands were still moving in his hair.  Before Bo go hurt, their affection was never so blatant.  Whether it was a societal standard of masculinity or simple pride, they rarely said ‘I love you’ or hugged.  They hadn’t sat together like this since Bo was in grade school.

“There’s a sandwich in the fridge for you,” Luke said quietly.

“Thanks, Luke,” Uncle Jesse said, heading into the kitchen.  Rather than eating at the table like he usually did, he brought his plate back to sit across from his nephews.

“How was physical therapy?” Jesse asked quietly.  Bo didn’t stir.

“He had a time, but we made it through the full session,” Luke said.  “Cried some, but he kept at it.”

“That must have been as hard on you as it was on him,” Jesse said.  Luke didn’t respond.  Jesse had finished his lunch by the time his oldest spoke again.

“Uncle Jesse,” Luke started slowly, “do you really think this is what God intended for him?”

“’Therefor I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.  Is not life more important than food and the body more important than clothes?  Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them,’” Jesse quoted.  He paused to let his nephew digest it.  “The Lord’s got a plan for Bo, and Bo’ll live the life he’s meant to.  Our job is to pray that we’ll play our part as the Lord wishes.”

“Things’ll never be how they were before,” Luke said.  It wasn’t a question, just a calm statement.  Jesse neither agreed nor disagreed.

“They’ll be how they’re meant to be,” he said.  “And I wouldn’t say our current situation is any better or worse than it’s ever been.  This isn’t what we wanted for our Bo, but he’s happy.  He’s safe.  We could’ve lost him, but he’s here with us.”

Luke nodded slowly and glanced down at his sleeping cousin.  Bo was turned away from him, face pressed just above Luke’s knees.  It didn’t look particularly comfortable to Luke, but Bo had never been too picky about where he would sleep.  In their childhood camping trips, Bo would always drop right off while Luke sat awake, listening to the night pass around them.

“I haven’t held him like this since we were kids,” Luke said.  Jesse nodded, like he understood what Luke was trying to say.

Bo stirred between them.  He hadn’t slept as long as Luke thought he would, but at least they didn’t have to worry about him not wanting to sleep at night.  He squirmed where he was for a minute before he sat up.

“Luke,” Bo said.  He sounded half thoughtful, half asleep.

“Bo,” Luke said back, equally serious.

After a brief stare-down, Bo glanced over at Uncle Jesse and cracked a grin.  Jesse smiled back and patted his nephew’s cheek affectionately as he walked to the kitchen to put his plate away.  Bo rubbed the sleep from his eyes and unfolded his legs from beneath himself.

“Daisy?” he asked.

“She’s still at work, buddy,” Luke said.  “But we’ve got plenty of chores to keep busy with until she gets home.”

“Okay,” Bo agreed.  He stood up and went straight to where his boots sat by the door.  Once they were on, he gave his cousin a pointed look and bobbed his head toward the door.  Luke got the message.  _Let’s go._


End file.
